Thais Prefer More Spending Money Under Copay Project: Poll

A recent King Prajadhipok Institute (KPI) poll conducted earlier this month found that a majority of Thais prefer to receive more spending money from the government under the "Thais Help Thais Plus" copay project. The poll, which surveyed 2,000 people nationwide, revealed that 56% of respondents would prefer the government to increase the sum of spending money given to recipients of the "Thais Help Thais Plus" copay project. Specifically, they favored a 60:40 split in favor of the recipients contributing the larger portion. Furthermore, 13% of respondents called for the copay project to be extended to all low-income earners, beyond the estimated 39 million currently benefiting from it. Another 5% suggested the government should work to get more food shops, grocery stores, and services to join the four-month-long project. The "Thais Help Thais Plus" project is currently being implemented nationwide and is valid until the end of September. Each recipient is entitled to a maximum of 1,000 baht in spending money monthly, with a daily spending limit of 200 baht from the government-granted portion. This populist campaign, led by the Bhumjaithai-aligned government, is entirely funded by a 200 billion baht economic relief package. This package accounts for roughly half of the total borrowed funding scheme under an executive decree that has yet to receive retroactive legislative approval.